This week, I’m hungry for books that will keep me entertained through the brittle cold of February. I’ve picked three very different kinds of novels: a horror/thriller set in the Catskill mountains of upstate New York, a Science Fiction/Murder Mystery set on a space cruiser and a cosy story of contemporary English witches.

I’m hoping that it will be one of those weeks when I’m looking for ways to get to spend more time with my books because I want to know what happens next.

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‘The Chill’ by Scott Carson (2020)

Scott Carson / Michael Koryta is a new author for me. I was pulled to ‘The Chill’ because I’ve visited reservoirs that have been formed by damning rivers and drowning villages and they’ve always seemed just a little menacing to me All that cold water acting as a grave for a village sacrificed to feed a distant city.

The endorsement from Stephen King also caught my attention. So did the idea that the author so wanted to write this kind of focused, atmospheric chiller, that he created a new pseudonym to set these books apart from his crime thrillers.

I’m hoping for a sense of doom, growing like storm clouds in the mountains and a resounding explosion of action and consequences at the end.

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‘The Spare Man’ by Mary Robinnette Kowal (2022)

Somehow I’ve never gotten around to Mary Robinette Kowal’s books. I’ve had her World War I supernatural thriller, ‘Ghost Talkers’ sitting on my shelves for a long time. Her newest novel, ‘The Spare Man’ calls to me because it seems to combine a Golden Age Mystery with a classic Science Fiction set-up. And it has some humour. And a dog (OK, it’s a small dog but still, a dog in space, how decadent is that?)

Mary Robinette Kowal has chosen to narrate her own book, a decision that some authors come to regret. My wife has already listened to this book. She tells me that the narration is part of the appeal of the novel so I’m hoping for good things.

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‘The Very Secret Society Of Irregular Witches’ by Sangu Mandanna (2022)

So look at that cover. Doesn’t it say cosy to you? And the title makes me smile and feel at home. Best of all, this piece of witchery is actually set in England rather than in Kentucky or Texas which is where I’m most often taken for this kind of tale.

I’m hoping for something light and fun that has a Brit twist to it.